Just A Minute!

What Wine Pairs Best With Kangaroo?

Hi Reader,

I turned 40 on Saturday.

For my birthday, my wife and I went out to a fine dining establishment here in Southern Arizona. You know the kind of place: Southwestern architecture, adobe walls, dark, exposed wood beams… suffice it to say it was pricey, and I knew it would be.

We sat down, ordered bread, and I got a gin and tonic while perusing the menu.

It was pretty standard fare: New York Strip, Rack of Lamb, Bison fillet, and—JUST A MINUTE!—Kangaroo steaks?

What on earth? My wife and I looked at each other and said, at the same time, "Is that even legal?"

Turns out the restaurant is owned by an Australian guy, and yes, eating Kangaroo meat is perfectly legal. So, I thought "When in Tucson..." and decided to give it a try.

The waiter took our order (my wife got the Bison; I got the Kangaroo), then whisked away our menus.

After sipping on my gin, I realized I wanted wine with my steak—but the menu was gone.

Not to worry: I pulled out my iPhone and asked ChatGPT: "What wine pairs best with Kangaroo?" (Now that is a phrase I never thought I'd use).

It gave me a detailed answer: Australian Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Grenache.

Perfect! I had my answer. But I didn't have my drink menu. So I visited the restaurant’s website to check their wine list, and Bingo! An Australian red. Decision made.

When the waiter returned, I confidently asked for the South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Umm... sorry?" he said. "We don't have that."

(Awkward silence...)

"You don't? It's on your wine list," I said.

(Awkward silence...)

"No, we really don't, sir," he insisted.

"You do, though. It's right here," I said. He squinted as I showed him the website on my phone screen.

Then, his eyes became large: "Oh, wow, that is a really old menu. We haven't offered that wine in years."

He disappeared to the back of the house to get the current wine list.

(Awkward silence...)

"I'll just take whatever Australian red you have," I said when he came back to the table.

The problem was: there was just one Australian red and it was only sold by the bottle... for $100.

Since my wife doesn't drink, there was no way I was spending $100 on wine for me. I gave up and just settled for a glass of California cab instead.

It was fine, of course, but it wasn't what I wanted. And most of all, it turned a special birthday dinner into a weird moment that was confusing (and made me look cheap).

In the end, everything turned out okay. But what if I had specifically chosen this restaurant for a particular dinner I'd found on their online menu, only to find out after sitting down that the one thing I wanted wasn't available?

Here's the point...

Your website is a promise to your customers. If what’s online doesn’t match what’s real, you break that trust, and you might even embarrass or upset them.

And here’s the kicker: AI tools like ChatGPT only amplify this. They rely on your website: if your info is outdated or inaccurate, the AI will confidently tell your customers the wrong thing.

So, here's my challenge for you:

Visit your website this week, and click through every page as if you were a new customer. Check your hours, contact info, products, services, pricing, and links. Are they all accurate? Are you making promises you can't keep?

If you find anything wrong or outdated, fix it.

And if you’d like a second set of eyes, just reply to this email and ask me about my Website Health Check-up. Like a doctor visit, this is really something you should do annually.

Remember... Aged wine = good. Aged menus = bad. Don’t let your website make the same mistake this restaurant did.

Got a question you’d like answered in a future email? Just hit reply. Yes, it’s really me, and yes, I read every response.

Ron Stauffer

Lieder Digital

​Visit My Website / Connect on LinkedIn​